


A New Year

by myaekingheart



Series: The Scarecrow and the Bell [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, F/M, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Kid Hatake Kakashi, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, One Shot, Parent Hatake Kakashi, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22074361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myaekingheart/pseuds/myaekingheart
Summary: Each year brings something new for Kakashi and Rei, a benchmark for the ebb and flow of their long, tumultuous relationship. Happy New Year.(Standalone companion piece to The Scarecrow and the Bell)
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Natsuki Rei, Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Scarecrow and the Bell [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913203
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	A New Year

A young Kakashi Hatake slid down beside his next-door neighbor as she squirmed and squealed with anticipation. It was the first time she would ever see midnight, or at least voluntarily. He surveyed her wild ginger hair, the freckles across the bridge of her scrunched-up nose, that gleam in her mossy green eyes. Kakashi never cared much for New Years—it was just another day to him—but seeing it through her eyes made him care. She grinned up at him and swung her legs back and forth, and her excitement swelled in his little boy heart a sort of happiness that you can only truly feel when you’re still a kid. And then the clock struck midnight and like a bottle of champagne, she burst, falling backward onto the floor shrieking “Happy New Year!”

At age eleven, he sat beside Obito and Rin in the ramen shop as heavy foot traffic flowed behind them. He could feel something like anticipation rising in Rin’s throat, a question she was unsure if she could ask. Obito fumed with tension. Kakashi was sandwiched between the two, the heightening unspoken conflict only making him that much more unnerved. The steam from his noodles dampened his brow and his hands felt unsteady. He quietly excused himself and ducked out for some fresh air. The cold nipped at what little of his face was exposed, and he found his legs carrying him further down the street than his mind intended. He watched the crowds of people laughing and drinking and holding hands, enthralled by their happiness. And then he bumped into her. He should’ve been paying closer attention. The box of late-night shipments tumbled to the ground, spilling books everywhere. She gripped his forearm to steady herself. A large gong from nowhere in particular rang loud and clear, signaling the new year. It took Rei a moment to comprehend what had happened but once she did, her face burned bright red. Despite his mask, she could still feel his lips pressed against hers perhaps a little too unwillingly. And yet he had not moved away. Was he, too, paralyzed? Or was it something else? Rei recoiled and averted her eyes, apologizing softly before ducking into the shop and wishing him a halfhearted “Happy New Year.”

He didn’t know how it happened, and he cursed fate for having even put him in this situation in the first place. He was twenty-one. Everyone else was likely off drowning in alcohol and while he wasn’t one for the social scene, he almost wished he was with them instead. He could feel Rei’s presence pulsating beside him, wondered what expression painted her face beneath that kitsune mask. New Year’s Eve meant anything could happen. It was a night of possibility and magic. The threshold of a new beginning. It was also a night of danger and the hokage always insisted on tightening security. One false move and a firework could turn into a bomb, a celebration into a terrorist attack. The anticipation was killing him. He almost hoped something bad would happen just so he could avoid something good. He was too terrified of the good. But then midnight came and the world below rejoiced. He reached out and his fingers grazed hers, itching to interlock. “Aisuru…” he whispered. There was so much power in a name, so much history in a single word. Her heart leapt into her throat. She did not look at him. “Happy New Year.”

Sekkachi was about ready to drink herself to death. The bar was packed with shinobi tired and tense, Kakashi included. His students were wearing him thin and the night away was such a relief. He rested his hand on Rei’s lower back as she took another swig of sake, her face glowing with intoxication. How he had stayed away from her so long, how he had kept his distance, he had no clue. Standing here beside her now, he couldn’t imagine living one more second without her. He gripped her hand then, whispering, “Come here for a second.” She looked at him curiously, following him back to a secluded corner of the bar. He brushed the hair out of her face, fingers grazing that scar across her nose. And then midnight came and the world around them erupted. Kakashi tugged his mask down and pressed his lips hard against hers, his hand lightly gripping her shirt at her lower back. Everything else melted away—the world no longer existed except for him and her. When he pulled away, she looked back at him in a drunken haze, cheeks bright red. God, he loved her so much. The promise of their futures flashed before his eyes as he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, “Happy New Year.”

When they asked her why she wasn’t drinking, she refused to give an answer. She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. It was nothing. She could feel their stares, however, as she ordered another soda. It made her sick. Kakashi could sense her growing anxiety, massaging the base of her neck in an effort to ease the tension. The fact she had made the effort to come out at all in the first place, had dragged herself through that thick haze of exhaustion and nausea, was admirable but he knew deep down she just wanted to go home. The only thing keeping her here, of course, was reputation. But really, who cared? They were beyond the expectations of bachelors and the youth now. A new era was just around the corner. They slipped out shortly before midnight, walking slow back to their apartment with hands interlocked. Her profuse apologies broke his heart. “You have nothing to be sorry for” Kakashi reminded her. They stopped just outside the complex as the clock struck midnight. A soft smile touched his lips as he leaned down and kissed her softly, and in that kiss was the shared knowledge that everything was going to change. This was the last year things would be calm ever again. He pressed a hand to the small bump beneath her shirt and whispered “Happy New Year.”

The chaos outside made Kakashi anxious. He considered abandoning the paperwork piled high on his desk, giving himself the night off, but he knew a hokage never truly rested. There was so much to organize in the aftermath of the war. But something far more important waited for him at home. He signed off one more document before deciding to officially depart for the night and as he walked home, he suddenly grew terrified that he wouldn’t make it in time. Swarms of people were already crowding around in preparation for the turn of the new year. He burst into their home with five minutes to spare, the living room cluttered with brightly colored toys and pillows and blankets. And then he saw them and his heart swelled. _This_. This is what was most important. He set his equipment down slowly, then tiptoed to the couch where his wife was fast asleep. Her hair was matted and tangled, there was spit up on her shirt, and yet he couldn’t help but think she had never looked more beautiful. A hand rested atop their infant daughter’s back as she slept peacefully atop Rei’s chest. She probably struggled for hours to quiet her. When that gong struck midnight, Nariko would probably snap awake wailing and screaming, erasing all of that hard work. He pursed his lips trying to think of a way around it all, stroking her fine, pale hair affectionately. Before he could come up with a plan, however, midnight came but neither Rei nor their daughter woke. Relief washed over him as he kissed his daughter’s head, and then his wife’s. Rei’s brows furrowed at the touch, her eyes creaking open. It took her a moment to register that it was Kakashi before her, _really_ him and not just a figment of her imagination. And then a soft smile touched her lips as she watched him kick his shoes off and climb carefully onto the couch to curl up beside them, wrapping his arms around the two most important people in his life. As they settled in, he nuzzled her cheek and murmured, “Happy New Year.”

As the years wore on, New Year’s Eve transformed into a time of reflection and gratitude. Kakashi thought back to when he and Rei were just kids, how indifferent he had been except for her. The excitement in her eyes, that untouched innocence, was enough to make him reconsider. And now, lounging in his living room watching his own children race and leap and holler, he was filled with a similar sense of wonder and light. Nariko flung her stuffed animals high into the air with infectious laughter as their son, growing sleepy, settled into his mother’s lap. As predicted, he was barely making it to midnight whereas she would probably last until dawn if they let her. They were filled with so much promise, these precious little kids. Kakashi still couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to call them his own, to have a family of his own in the first place. His fingers interlocked with his wife’s as she rested her head on his shoulder, and then the clock struck midnight and another year officially began. Rei gazed up at her husband with glassy eyes, as if their world was to good to be true, and they heard Nariko gag playfully as they kissed. “That’s gross!” she shouted, though her mind was elsewhere in minutes. Fireworks blared outside their window, capturing children’s wonder with their bright colors and loud pops. Kakashi and Rei followed close behind to enjoy the show. No matter what trials and tribulations they faced every other day of the year, at this moment nothing else mattered and the world was perfect. Rokurou plugged his ears as Nariko cupped her hands around her mouth then and screamed to the world below “Happy New Year!”


End file.
